The parents of a 21-year-old man who was struck and killed while walking on the 91 Freeway have filed a suit against an Uber driver and the ride-share company, alleging their son was abandoned on the side of the freeway.
Cory Robert Hunter of Corona, Calif., was struck and killed in the early morning hours of May 21 when, according to court records, he was seen walking on the fast lane of the 91 Freeway near the Serfas Club exit in Corona.
In the lawsuit, Hunter’s parents accuse the ride-share company and the driver of negligence and wrongful death.
A spokesperson for Uber said the company could not comment on pending litigation.
According to the suit filed July 3, Hunter and five friends were picked up from Fullerton about 2:30 a.m. on May 21 and headed to Corona.
Hunter had fallen asleep during the drive, but was awoken by other passengers when one of the other passengers sitting behind him had to vomit.
The suit says the driver, Muruli Ntamba, pulled over on the eastbound lanes of the 91 Freeway, and Hunter and the other passengers got out of the vehicle.
“After exiting the vehicle in a disoriented state, Mr. Hunter did not return to the vehicle,” according to the suit. Ntamba, instead of looking for him, “left the scene without Mr. Hunter, essentially leaving a completely disoriented individual on the side of a busy highway, knowingly endangering the person of Mr. Hunter,” the lawsuit says.
The driver’s attorney, Theida Salazar, however, told SFGate her client and the other passengers couldn’t locate Hunter. Ntamba then circled around looking for Hunter, but didn’t find him.
Salazar told SFGate that Hunter’s friends then told the driver that Hunter would turn up.
Salazar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
About 2:55 a.m. that morning, Hunter was walking on the fast lane of the freeway when he was hit by a woman driving a 2016 Toyota, according to the suit.
Hunter’s parents have also named the driver of the Toyota, Lauren Pena, as a defendant in the lawsuit, alleging that she “acted in an unreasonable manner at an unsafe speed and failed to see, anticipate, yield to, and avoid striking Mr. Hunter.”
City News Service reported that the driver immediately stopped after striking Hunter.
Hunter was hit by another car, shortly after being hit initially.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
